ATOAI Convention 17th-19th January – Araku Valley Welcomes Delegates
Andhra Pradesh: The 14th Annual Convention of ATOAI is being held in Araku Valley, Andhra Pradesh from 17th to 19th January 2019. The theme of the convention this year is Adventure Travel: Future Challenges and Opportunities in the digital age.
ATOAI has been setting a record of taking the convention each year to emerging hot spots in the country; a great way to showcase to national and international delegates their potential as adventure tourism destinations. Bringing into focus, new as well as established adventure products, bringing investment opportunities to the adventure travel fraternity and providing networking opportunities with the local stakeholders. By going to Araku Valley, Andhra Pradesh this year, their objective is to showcase the potential of adventure tourism activities and properties the state has to offer.
The convention will offer a mix of activities keeping with the tradition of active tour operators along with brainstorming sessions, and helping us look at the outdoor adventure industry through new perspectives. Today’s business challenges need to be addressed jointly and understood in collaboration. The convention will be a one-stop-shop for India’s adventure and outdoor industry.
Araku Valley is an amazing hill station, one of unfathomable beauty that lures travellers with its breath-taking landscapes and pleasant weather. It is located 115 km from Vizag airport, a 3 hour drive. The region has a plathora of all the things that spell adventure. It is abundant in natural resources including caves, hills, gradients, water bodies and more. It is not densely populated and has large open areas, vast swathes of terrain that could be developed or used to make it an important emerging adventure travel destination.
“The Araku convention is being vitalized by a packed activity schedule which will have delegates explore and experience paramotoring, hot air ballooning, zorbing, high ropes, zip line, kayaking and ATVs. The conference and exhibition arena is set in the outdoors at the Forest Institute which was recently also the venue for the Andhra Pradesh Cabinet meeting.”
“Interspersed with sessions, networking, and activity away from the resident enclave; the evenings are opportunities to savor local Dimsa dance, exchange moments of each others notable moments, renew and make new alliances,” said Vaibhav Kala, Convention Chairman.
The ATOAI group achieved a list of commendable goals last year. The year 2018 was notable as they launched the Adventure Travel Safety Guidelines which herald a new area of safety in adventure travel across all States. This will be a landmark in the adventure travel timeline in India. The ATOAI group helped bring the biggest gathering of overseas buyers through ATTA to Bhopal at AdventureNext, which we aim to propagate across the country to other States.
“We helped with the Kerela floods by sending a team to help with rescue and also worked towards the clean up of the Gangotri route and Stok Kangri basecamps, trained over a 100 guides in CPR and First Aid in Uttarakhand,” said Capt. Swadesh Kumar- President ATOAI.
The Co-Chairman of the Convention is Andhra Pradesh’s Shekhar Babu, who is an Everester himself and has the mantle of helping over 24 climbers from this State reach the summit of Everest. The convention will offer structured opportunities for the travel trade and tourism boards to network for business development. These include networking sessions and a Buyer – Seller Expo where companies may take up table space to promote their products and services.
ATOAI is expecting over 250 participants mostly the leading adventure tour operators, hotels, DMCs, State Tourism Boards, travel trade from Andhra Pradesh as well as the neighbouring states in South India, officials from the Ministry of Tourism and the bloggers, Influencers, Travel Trade Media and other Key media companies to interact and network during the convention days.
About ATOAI
The Adventure Tour Operators Association of India was founded in 1994 with handful of members. Now
it is a national body comprising more than 500 members from across the country and abroad, actively
promoting adventure and eco-tourism in India. The association was founded with an aim to create
awareness about the immense potential for adventure tourism in India and to harness this potential in a
safe, sensitive and environment friendly manner.
ATOAI members are recognised by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India.